Born to a family of wealthy farmers, Yu Teng-fa began his political career in 1947, when he was elected a Kuomintang member of the National Assembly.
[7][8] Elections to the National Assembly and Legislative Yuan were scheduled for December 1978, but postponed after the United States announced that it would soon diplomatically recognize the People's Republic of China.
Yu protested the postponement of the elections, stating that the decision was unconstitutional, exposing the Kuomintang's penchant for relying on martial law.
[9] In January 1979, he and his son Yu Jui-yen were arrested prior to a demonstration against the postponement of elections and formally charged with "knowing a Communist and not reporting it.
[12] The January 1979 protest prompted Hsu's impeachment by the Control Yuan, which in turn contributed to December's Kaohsiung Incident.
[1] In 1995, Kao Ming-hui, a retired deputy chief of the Investigation Bureau based in Kaohsiung, wrote that charges against Yu were fabricated by Kao's agency, additionally stating that Yu was mentally unstable and could not recognize the flag of the People's Republic of China when questioned.